Friday, September 08, 2006

A Blessed Opinion

We are not medical experts here at Blue Dragon- Education and Wholistic well being are our stengths. However we do know how to handle fevers, small cuts, Betadine and bandaid applications, and RUBELLA ( ask me about that later). But there are a handful of Special cases amongst our kids that are difficult to get a good opinion on and to find the best medical plan for their lives.

This week we have been blessed with Doctor Jan from America who works with PROJECT VIETNAM. James Brennan, a friend of Blue Dragon's was able to organise this consultation for us. She came to visit our centre to give us a third opinion for five of our children. This was a very moving experience for me.

Duc, a little boy with major hormone deficiencies, came with his Mother. Duc has been to see many doctors, and I can't imagine how much it must bare on him having to listen to adults talking about his health, future or lack of. The reality of the situation is that there is no miraculous drug which will make him normal height, strength,etc as he is now 15 and his bones are already starting to fuse.Seeing Duc and his mothers reaction to all of this information really broke my heart. I can understand his mothers stress, especially in a culture where your only son holds such great importance for your families future. Ducs mother is such a loving woman, and has tried her whole life to help her son. There is hope though!If we can get him to see a GOOD Specialist at an SOS clinic who can do the proper hormone tests on him to see exactly what his body needs and to work out a medical plan for him. Maybe they could improve his testosterone levels which would help him to develop in a more 'manly' way , which would in turn boost his confidence. If we can increase Duc's confidence and self esteem it will help him to enjoy the life he has been given. He just wants to be like the other kids, to be normal. Bless his little heart. We won't give up, and we have just found out that there is an alternative to the drug which Duc needs,(crucial if he gets sick) which is cheap and readily available in Vietnam. Slowly, Slowly the right path is being shown to us with the help of wonderful people.

I think living in the bubble of our own lives we really forget to put ourselves in other peoples shoes. When I got home last night i thought of the kids who had seen the doctor and how their lives have or haven't changed, what do they worry about, how are they feeling, what strength they need to get through every day? I won't turn this blog into a novel about each individual case, but I just wanted to share with you this experience. Basically, for those whose "medical condition" does not effect their everyday life, ie. they can still play, run, walk, have fun, have friends, study and have energy, they will be able to live a full normal life regardless.

Unfortunately for one of the boys, Thien, 9 years old, who is disabled, the access to professional carers who are experts in education for children with learning disabilities is not available here, hence putting so much extra stress on the mother who is already struggling to survive. BUT if we can find a specialist Optometrist for disabled children, we may be able to get him the RIGHT pair of glasses which would increase his ability to learn by 80%. I couldn't imagine trying to learn how to read and write when I can't even see the paper in front of me clearly, Could you?

And so our work continues, to find the best solutions for these amazing children and their precious carers.

For those of you like me, who are blessed with good health and a strong body, give thanks because there are many people who go home everyday and worry about what their future holds or can't go to school because their face is a funny shape, or can't make new friends because of their Cerebal Palsy even though their are the smartest kid in class. We must give thanks for our blessings, and share them with all.